Foreign plane detained overnight for entering high-security airspace in Jodhpur

Jaipur: A foreign chartered aircraft flying from Muscat was detained overnight by authorities in Jaipur but was released today after authorities questioned the pilot. It had deviated from its flight path and flew over the high-security Indian Air Force (IAF) combat base in Jodhpur.

The chartered plane, a Dornier 228 that can also be used as a surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft, originated from Muscat. It had stopped in Karachi before flying to Jaipur. It was scheduled to leave for Bangkok before reaching Dhaka.

The aircraft with four crew members on board flew over the Jodhpur air force area without permission before its scheduled landing at the Sanganer Airport in Jaipur for refuelling last evening, officiating Director, Sanganer airport, P Krishna told PTI. "The aircraft deviated from its scheduled route but was being monitored. We got information from Delhi ATC about the violation so the aircraft was grounded (at Sanganer airport) and the pilot Ibrahim was questioned. Intelligence agencies were also informed. We examined the technical details and submitted our report to the DGCA," Mr Krishna said.

He said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation gave clearance to the aircraft today as "nothing suspicious" was found in the investigation. "Since it was a violation, we gave the pilot a warning letter in this regard," he added.

The crew told investigators that the plane's global positioning system (GPS) had gone haywire, resulting in the flight path deviation.

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Usually planes like the Dornier 228 are used for taking high resolution pictures of strategic defence assets within enemy territory from the air. This military capability was what triggered an alert in the IAF, which promptly informed Indian security agencies in Jaipur after learning that it was landing there soon, officials said.